The Supreme Court on Monday issued notices to the Centre and all state governments on a PIL alleging that nurses were being exploited by private hospitals which withheld their certificates and compelled them to sign bond for employment.
A bench comprising Chief Justice S H Kapadia and Justices A K Patnaik and Swatanter Kumar sought the response on the petition filed by the Indian Professional Nurses Association (IPNA) and others seeking direction to frame guidelines for private hospitals. Appearing for the IPNA, advocate Deepak Prakash submitted that there was no guideline for the appointment of nurses in hospitals which harass them.
“It is a usual practice in the hospitals especially in private hospitals that at the time of appointment of staff nurses, their original certificates are retained by the authorities and compel them to deposit huge amount for releasing certificates at the time of leaving the organisation which is illegal and in violation of Article 23 of the Constitution of India,” the petition alleged.
